The Ultimate Pre-Workout Breakfast Muffin
I am having the best day. It's the first day in months that I've had NO plans, and a whole day to myself. It's also my day off from working out, which means I got to sleep in! I love days like this.
I took the day to check a bunch of things off my list - grocery shop, get my car washed, laundry, and meal prep for the week. I also snuck in a few episodes of my guilty pleasure, Jersey Shore. I'm so glad it's back. It's ok if you judge me for it.
I am officially two weeks in to the 80 Day Obsession, the newest workout program from Team Beach Body. Ya'll, it is hard. Not just the workouts, but keeping on track with the meals too. I'm obsessed though, and determined to stick with it!
The most challenging part of this entire process for me is making sure I get in my pre-workout meal. On days I go into the office, I have to start working out at 5 am in order to get in the shower and out the door in time for work. That means I have to eat my pre-workout meal at 4 am. 4 AM!!!!!!! I am absolutely not a morning person, so it's awful.
I do not have the brain function to make myself a meal that early in the morning. That means I need something prepped the night before so I can crawl into the kitchen in the morning and eat without doing any work. Enter: muffins!! Green ones! You can make these little babies up to a few days in advance, and you don't even have to heat them up or anything in the morning! I love it.
80 Day Obsession focuses on timed nutrition, so I need to eat specific foods at specific times each day. I use the containers from 21 day fix to make sure I'm eating the correct portions, and I use an excel spreadsheet to plan out my daily meals. 80DO certainly requires a lot of planning, but it gives me tons of energy, encourages healthy fat loss, and helps me gain muscle. I'm also never hungry because I'm always eating healthy balanced meals. It's awesome.
To fuel my workout each morning, I need to eat a yellow, a red and a green container of food, plus 1 tsp. If you are unfamiliar with the containers, that means a carb, a protein, a vegetable, and one teaspoon of oil. This will give me all the energy I need to get through an intense morning workout.
After a little bit of trial and error, I came up with this recipe for these easy spinach and protein muffins that I can scarf down in the morning an hour before my workout. Keep in mind though - these aren't yummy delicious dessert muffins. These are healthy muffins to give you the nutrients you need for a great workout. They don't taste as delicious as a typical muffin, but they definitely don't taste bad either.
Whether you are doing 80 day obsession, 21 day fix, or any other intense workout, these muffins are just the thing you need to fuel your body!
Pre-Workout Spinach Muffins
Servings: 2 Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Ingredients:
2 Cups Spinach
2 Eggs
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Cup Rolled Oats
2 Tsp Coconut Oil
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until very smooth.
Grease a muffin tin (I use a tiny bit of coconut oil) and pour mixture into tin. It should fill 4 muffin cups. (One serving is 2 muffins.)
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
Store them in a tupperware at room temperature for up to 3 days.
